A same-sex love scene in a popular new game has some fans cheering – and others jeering, revealing what some experts call the homophobic underbelly of the gaming community.

Globe and Mail reports:

It's when the male elf assassin and the strapping warrior peel off their clothes and start making out that you know you've left the realm of traditional video games far, far behind. This ain't Super Mario Brothers.

It's the prelude to a same-sex love scene in the recently released role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins that has many heralding a major step for the video game industry – and has thrown into relief the homophobia within the gaming community.

“It's not trying to be over the top, it's trying to show a gay relationship in a positive light, which is certainly a big change,” says Paul Hunter, managing editor of NextGen Player, a Toronto-based gaming blog.

But while gay and lesbian characters are slowly gaining a place in video games as more than just stereotypical caricatures, the sex scene in the sword and sorcery game, released last month by Edmonton-based company BioWare and available on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms, has drawn hateful comments online. READ MORE